In Need of a Good Reputation
Knute Larson
Our reputation must begin from the inside out.
— Knute Larson
I sat in the waiting area of a car wash, reading a newspaper, waiting for my car to move through the automated wash. Glancing sideways, I saw a pair of female legs in Bermuda shorts. I fought the urge to take a second look and buried my face in the newspaper. The woman stopped and dropped into the seat next to me.
"Well, did you run this morning?" she asked.
Surprised, I looked over. "Yes, I did." I didn't recognize her. "How did you know I run?"
"I attend the early service at The Chapel, and a couple of times you've mentioned your running."
After she left, I shuddered at what might have been: had I taken a double-take at her legs and then met her eyes — that would have been a dumb misstep on my part.
I recently read a comment by an nba star who, when asked about the effect his immoral off-the-court behavior had on young admirers, said, "Hey, I didn't ask to be a role model." In one sense, we pastors have asked to be role models. How we act outside the church's walls impacts our work as much as how we act inside them.
Maybe more! High visibility adds an extra pressure never to drop my guard, never to give in to temptation. God writes a strong standard for pastors in 1 Timothy 3, making the consequences of a pastor's public failure even more painful. We never exit the public stage. While God looks on the heart and not on outward appearances, the people we lead and the community in which we serve have only our outward actions to gauge our character.
Reputation Tested
Living in this glass house is, however, only one aspect of the reputation pressures we face. Those pressures come in various settings and can either strengthen us or make us want to run.
• In intimate groups. ...
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